Last week I was invited to try out FlyDubai’s business class during a short two night trip to Dubai. I hadn’t flown FlyDubai for quite some time now and I hadn’t flown their business class at all since they introduced it this past November.
Since last September FlyDubai has also been flying out of Kuwait from the Sheikh Saad Terminal (the terminal previously used by the now defunct Wataniya Airways). There are a number of advantages to this terminal over the main Kuwait International Airport. Firstly the airport is a lot more visually tasteful, it’s cleaner and it has more natural daylight coming in. It’s also smaller which means the process of checking in or landing and getting your bags is a lot quicker. For business travelers you also get a whole wing of the airport just for yourselves. The business class section of the airport consists of multiple lounges, a food area and shower rooms. The lounge looks pretty much the same from when Wataniya Airways was running it which is a good thing. If you have Diners Club or American Express you can also use this lounge even if you’re flying economy. The downside to the airport is that you don’t have a proper restaurant to eat at just a Starbucks. Also, the long term parking at Sheikh Saad Terminal is expensive costing KD5 a day while the long term parking at the regular airport is just KD2 a day. But if you don’t mind walking a bit, there is free parking across the street near the military airbase although I could imagine that filling up pretty quickly.
The business class on FlyDubai is a proper business class with large fancy seats and all the business class amenities you’d expect to find. Their business class reminded me a bit of Wataniya Airways, actually because we were flying out of Sheikh Saad Terminal the whole experience felt like flying Wataniya Airways and thats a good thing since I used to love flying with Wataniya Airways. First thing I spotted when I sat down in my seat was the bottle of Evian water. They could have used any other brand like most airlines would do, but I suspect because they really want the customers to feel this is a true business class, they went with a brand easily associated with luxury.
The seats also had power plugs and large touch screens with access to in-flight entertainment. Before take off we were also served complimentary drinks and once we were in the air we were served breakfast. Disappointingly we didn’t have a choice for breakfast and so I was stuck with yogurt and granola. On the bright side, they did have a drinks menu which includes alcohol and I have to say their Sauvignon blanc was surprisingly very good for breakfast.
After arriving to Dubai, we were shuttled to the terminal in a small bus. Once we arrived to the terminal we had our own priority pass line and within minutes we were picking up our luggage. A very smooth and quick process.
Leaving Dubai is where I thought I would have an issue. The reason I used to dislike flying with FlyDubai is because their airport in Dubai (Terminal 2) used to be the saddest airport ever, like worse than the Kuwait Airport even. But since the last time I flew with Dubai their airport has gone through a major overhaul. The airport looks a lot better now, theres more seating and there’s also more options for food with Paul open there as well as Costa and Subway. Definitely a much more pleasant experience and from what I’m told there is still more work being done.
I started flying with FlyDubai because they usually had the cheapest tickets to Dubai and I would guess it was like that with a lot of other people. This is why FlyDubai has to work twice as hard to build their business class brand and reputation. They want people to realize that although their economy class has no frills, their business class is a completely different experience. It’s why I was invited to fly with them, to help spread the word about this. Their business class ticket prices seem pretty competitive, I just checked tickets to Dubai this weekend and the cheapest business class ticket Emirates had was KD362 while FlyDubai was KD173. Thing is they fly to a ton of other destinations other than Dubai and I would imagine their business class prices would be competitive on all the routes as well. So overall, FlyDubai’s business class is pretty damn good.
Update: I was just informed there is actually a Chili’s Express and other coffee shops on the 2nd floor of the airport before checking in.
13 replies on “Flying Business with FlyDubai”
I tried it, love the Sheikh Saad Terminal part of it. However, the cheaper tickets are very very restricted. everything is chargeable. another issue is that no online check in is allowed from Kuwait! whats the point!
I use FLYDUBAI almost weekly to Dubai for business reasons and you will find that even before FLYDUBAI took over SST (Sheikh Saad Terminal) non-Kuwaiti business persons flew this carrier. Other competitors in Kuwait are not very welcoming to foreigners. I am grateful to FLYDUBAI that they invested in a more comfortable terminal for their passengers and upgraded their services for a struggling Kuwait market. In general, I strongly feel that this terminal is under-utilized, because there are limited FLYDUBAI daily flights to Dubai and considering, that KIA is too small to handle the passenger levels to be polite, I would think a government would want to use this terminal for multiple carriers which FLYDUBAI would ultimately share the costs. Something that I noticed, that you neglected to write about, was the sleek blue partition between business class and economy class. I thought that was a nice touch! Also, the crew no longer has to struggle to open/close the curtain, which can be annoying to passengers and becomes dirty with time as on the older planes. Also, there has been an increase in fare prices to Dubai, because the demand for these flights, that bi-pass the chaos of KIA, which are very popular with people embarking/departing Kuwait. I also was a dedicated Wataniya customer, so my fear is that the costs of this terminal will be too high for this market, so it is very important for FLYDUBAI to understand their customer base in Kuwait. Adding the business class model is a bit of a gamble, because the demand for economy on such a short route is much stronger than business class, but your observations in business class was spot on.
Excellent product! 175 KD for business class to Dubai, Sheikh Saaad Terminal and alcohol on board is how to start your weekend out right. I’ve never flown them before but will definitely try them next time.
Last time we flew United 1st to Bahrain (which is also very reasonable) but they didn’t serve alcohol. The United flight attendant said it wasn’t allowed on any short flights out of Kuwait anymore.
The thing is they only fly business to certain destinations. Frankly I only used them for the private terminal; the arrival at Dubai is a pain though.
Their terminal in Dubai needs a lot of work. For one, they need a lot more power outlets and seating areas.
Still, nothing beats Emirates and their own terminal.
Who needs biz class on a flight that sometimes is covered in less than 1.5 hour?! At over 4 times the price of an economy ticket is it plain stupidity!
Same people who are paying KD300+ to fly business on emirates instead of KD40 to fly economy with flydubai maybe?
the major drawback is the seats are not comfortable and there is no separation curtain, not to be snobby but i disliked standing up to use the toilet and the whole of economy is staring at you, as if to say “you lucky b*(&(*rd”
Great experience, just a quick question does the Sauvignon blanc was alcoholic or non- alcoholic as it is a wine brand?
it’s real wine
it’s a grape from the Bordeaux region in France, not a brand!
Savignon Blanc for breakfast? That’s hardcore!
Hi Mark,are you positive about the parking across the airport being free? I thought it was a parking lot for workers of the adjacent military base but i never checked. I concur: 5KWD per day in the parking lot is too pricey. Plus they refuse to give receipts: my company pays for the parking but i can not present a real ticket for it.
Many thanks
I parked there and it was free